Gold Bars Fetching Shiny Premiums on eBay

One Credit Suisse 24 karat pure one ounce bar had attracted 12 bids, the highest at $835 with the auction open for another 10 hours and 20 minutes.

This is in sharp contrast to gold's spot prices, currently trading at $728.60/oz. Heavy selling from hedge funds and other investors in need of cash to meet client redemptions and margin calls have clipped gold from around $930/oz just over two weeks ago to a one-year low of $681.75/oz Friday, before a strong bounce lifted prices back above the $700/oz level.

Another Credit Suisse one ounce bar, with 15 hours to go, had attracted 13 bids, topping $880.

Retail investors seeking physical gold have forced coin and bar producers such as the U.S. Mint to ration supplies.

"It's an anecdotal story, but the high bids on eBay illustrate the high level of retail demand. For that reason we believe gold will go up again once hedge fund redemptions wane, which should happen at the end of October," said one Sydney-based trader.

-- Elisabeth Behrmann, Dow Jones Newswires